Sparrow Story: A Japanese Fairy Tale

An old man came across a wounded sparrow and brought her home. His wife had a very bad temper. She had never borne him any children, and would not take the trouble to adopt a son. So for a little pet, he kept a tiny sparrow, and fed it with great care. The old dame, not satisfied with scolding her husband, hated the sparrow.
One day when the old man was out she cut the sparrow’s tongue. Wounded again she fled away.
When the old man came back and found his pet gone, he made a great ado. He asked his wife, and she told him what she had done and why. The sorrowful old man grieved sorely for his pet, and after looking in every place and calling it by name, gave it up as lost.
Old man went everywhere to look for her. He travelled through mountains and reached the kingdom of sparrows. He found a nice little house with a bamboo garden, tiny waterfall, stepping stone, and everything complete. The bird gave him warm welcome. Sparrow brought in slices of sugar-jelly, rock-candy, sweet potato custard, and a bowl of hot starch sprinkled with sugar, and a pair of chopsticks on a tray.
"Please take up and help yourself. The refreshments are very poor, but I hope you will excuse our plainness," said the Sparrow. The delighted old man, wondering in himself at such a polite family of sparrows, ate heartily, and drank several cups of tea. Finally, on being pressed he remained all night.
For several days the old man enjoyed himself at the sparrow's home. On the fifth day the old man said he must go home. Then the sparrow brought out two baskets made of plaited rattan, such as are used in travelling and carried on men's shoulders. Placing them before their guest, the sparrow said, "Please accept a parting gift." One basket was very heavy, and the other very light. The old man, not being greedy, said he would take the lighter one. So with many thanks and bows and good-byes, he set off homewards.
He reached his hut safely, but instead of a kind welcome the old hag began to scold him for being away so long. He begged her to be quiet, and told of his visit to the sparrows, opened the basket, while the scowling old woman held her tongue, out of sheer curiosity.
Oh, what a splendid sight! There were gold and silver coin, and gems, and coral, and crystal, and amber, and the never-failing bag of money, and the invisible coat and hat, and rolls of books, and all manner of precious things.
At the sight of so much wealth, the old hag's scowl changed to a smile of greedy joy. "I'll go right off and get a present from the sparrows," said she.
So binding on her straw sandals, and tucking up her skirts, and adjusting her girdle, tying the bow in front, she seized her staff and set off on the road. Arriving at the sparrow's house she began to flatter Mr. Sparrow by soft speeches. Of course the polite sparrow invited her into his house. The sparrow then brought out and set before her two baskets, one heavy and the other light. Taking the heavier one without so much as saying "thank you," she carried it back with her. Then she opened it, expecting all kinds of riches.
She took off the lid, when a horrible cuttlefish rushed at her, and a horned oni snapped his tusks at her, a skeleton poked his bony fingers in her face, and finally a long, hairy serpent, with a big head and lolling tongue, sprang out and coiled around her, cracking her bones, and squeezing out her breath, till she died.
Morale of the story: (our interpretation) –Sparrows remember kindness, but aren’t immune to getting even when situation calls for it. In today’s world they just disappear. We have deprived our children of the sight and sound of these lovely creatures

Interview with Ms. Miss Earth 2008

Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry was born in Philippines in 1986. She graduated in Tourism from University of Cebu in 2005. Before joining the fray in the beauty pageant, she was working with Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. I spoke to Ms Karla Paula Henry on her concerns regarding global warming and climatic change. Excerpts from the conversation:
Q: Planet earth is reeling under a number of environmental issues. What would you consider as the three most important issues that should be tackled on a priority?

-The biggest issue right now that our planet is facing is climate change. Years before, former Vice-President of the USA, Al Gore came up with "The Inconvenient Truth". A lot of movements have been done to send this message across. It has many sub-issues that should be addressed immediately by all the people in the world regardless of nation, gender, age or even social status. We are in the same planet and breathe the same air and drink the same water.
Here in the Philippines, a tropic country blessed with so many resources especially marine biodiversity, we will be badly hit if the current trends continue. Our corals are endangered to be bleached and when the temperature rises or falls, it will spell death to many species. Many areas will be inundated with even just a 1 meter rise in sea level. A lot of people will be displaced and will lose their homes and livelihood. Even the cultural minorities will be affected by this. Sadly, many of our tourist spots are our pristine beaches and marine parks. Our forest covers also declined through the years. That is why we continue to embark on tree planting activities focusing on doing it properly; planting only the right species for the selected area and making sure their growth are guarded and monitored. And I know we are not alone facing these problems. Through the pageant, I talked with other candidates and we shared our different issues. I wasn't surprised when I found out that we were sharing the same problems. It became a very good avenue for us to share and exchange ideas to solve them.
Q: How do you see your own role as Miss Earth in resolving the environmental problems?

A-We, as Miss Earth beauty queens are not the only women wearing crowns and living luxurious lives. As Miss Earth, I am an ambassador of the environment and I have the very big responsibility of properly educating people about the things they don't know yet and correct their not so eco-friendly habits. We are true to our cause which is pushing forward different environmental issues. We consider our status as our strength and use this position to draw attention not to ourselves but on the problems we are trying to find solutions for. Currently, we are having awareness and education campaigns all over the world to tell the people that yes we do have environmental issues that need to be addressed and that we can all do something in our own ways to counteract all the effects of climate change. And I believe that nothing else makes a bigger impact that being a living example yourself. Upon learning these issues, I made it a priority that I myself practice everything that I preach.


For rest of the interview-Read : Society & Environment( A Zayed Prize Publication)